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📖 READ this ep by going to the TRANSCRIPT tab that’s located closer to the start of this article.
Be sure to also listen to Riki’s BONUS EPISODE in which she breaks down a seminal piece of art from her life — the 1975 stage musical A Chorus Line.
Riki Lindhome is an Emmy-nominated musician and comedian, actress, and TV creator. She’s also a friend of nearly 20 years, which is just about how long I’ve been intimidated by her as an artist.
That’s because I know few artists who are as brilliant at so many things as she is.
You’ve seen her on screens in everything from “Gilmore Girls” and “The Big Bang Theory” to Knives Out and “Wednesday”. She also co-created and showran and starred in the hilarious “Another Period”, which ran for three seasons.
But maybe you best know her as one-half of Garfunkel and Oates.
In 2007, she and Kate Micucci formed the musical comedy duo – which quickly became a YouTube sensation thanks to subversive songs like “Sex with Ducks”, “Pregnant Women Are Smug”, and “The Loophole”, which led to albums and tours and much more.
The eagle-eyed will spot me and my wife in their video “Present Face”, which was shot in our apartment at the time. I’ll be forever grateful to the two of them for also recording a song as part of the video I used to propose to my wife – who said yes, thankfully.
So, I’m leaving out a lot, as Riki’s just done too much to tell you about. You’ll get a better idea of it all listening to our chat anyway. But I should tell you about her latest, most exciting works to date, I think.
They’re twinned in a way. The first being a deeply personal solo comedy album called No Worries If Not. The other is a one-person stage musical called Dead Inside that’s received reviews that made me scream with joy for my friend.
The two pieces are explorations – in her darkly hilarious, incredibly honest, often heartbreaking way – of her fertility journey. It was a traumatizing experience that we’ll get into, but you can learn more about t by checking out No Worries If Not here. I’ll be dropping clips from songs of the album in the podcast for audio listeners, too. This is an excellent place to start if you need a laugh:
The good news is, Riki got an adorable kid at the end of it all.
Guys, this is an incredibly fun, moving, and, I think, deeply inspirational conversation about an artist who, when she reached a crossroads in the pursuit of her acting career, turned her desperation and frustration into innovation and 20 years of fearless, transgressive, just incredible art.
I’m not going to claim she’s the roadmap for any of you, but in this new artist’s economy, where we all have the freedom to create and build audiences for ourselves apart from corporate gatekeepers, I do think there’s a shit ton for you to learn from Riki’s artistic journey.
Be sure to also check out Riki’s bonus episode. She returns to dig into a seminal piece of art from her life, and this one’s a doozy because it’s the one that explains the whole trajectory of her life in a lot of ways and influences every piece of art she creates today.
It’s 1975’s now-iconic musical, A Chorus Line – though we’ll discuss the 1985 film adaptation, too.
Okay, let’s do this. Let me introduce you to my friend – the absurdly talented, the hilarious Riki Lindhome.
If this podcast episode adds anything to your life but you’re not up for a paid subscription, you can still support my work here by buying me a “coffee”. It’s hugely appreciated - and you might even get a shoutout in the Notes!
